Bikes & Gear
Evaluations & Recommendations
Dunlop Roadsmart IV vs Pirelli Angel GT – Long Term Handling Observations
As I pushed wide into the oncoming lane of the right hand turn, two thoughts ran through my head. First, I am a better rider than this. Second, I was amazed that I needed this much bar pressure to steer Dave’s bike. Thousands of miles and countless curves had trained my muscle memory for my 5th generation Honda VFR800 and its Dunlop tires, so when I jumped on Dave Wensveen’s identical VFR and his Pirelli tires, I almost immediately ran wide on the tight right hand corner. I tried correcting my line. It was too late.
Read More
Triumph at the Baja Aragon Rally
Triumph Motorcycles has been not-so-secretly working on a pair of dirtbikes in recent years, a motocross and an enduro, even as they’ve produced class-leading adventure motorcycles through the years. We had the chance to ride and review the Tiger 900 Rally back two years ago, and found it a fantastic all-around motorcycle. Now a Tiger 900 has won a prestigious off-road endurance race in Europe, in the capable hands of 5-time Enduro world champ Iván Cervantes, who also happens to be a part of the overall Triumph Enduro project.
Read More
Legendary Bikes- Christian Sarron’s Yamaha YZR500
The old adage, “Race on Sunday, sell on Monday” was practically a mantra for motorcycle brands and their dealerships back in the 1970s-1990s. With the popularity of motorcycles here Stateside and the sell-out crowds at motorcycle races, the manufacturers often developed race bikes then would incorporate what they observed and learned into their street legal machines. Even the livery of their factory race motorcycles would be painted on street (and dirt) bikes, making them even more desirable to potential buyers. Cases in point- the HRC Repsol Honda replicas, the Kenny Roberts Yamaha paint schemes, among others. The brands still do that occasionally today, with the “Ago Superveloce”, Suzuki’s MotoGP Winners series, and the 2022 Yamaha XSR900, a throwback to the factory YZR500 two-stroke French rider Christian Sarron raced in the late 1980s.
Read More
Dunlop-Pirelli Tires Wet Handling Shootout
Speeding up might have ended the misery sooner but that had its own perils. Adding high speeds to wet and cold conditions is a pure confidence move- confidence in your bike, your riding skills, but most of all, your tires. This fiasco was part of Road Dirt’s summer tire shootout.
Read MoreSneak Peek: Triumph TE-1 Electric Prototype
Rumors have flown for several years of Triumph’s dabbling in the electric motorcycle pond. Those rumors are now proven true, and they are definitely doing more than dabbling. With the development and recent testing of their TE-1 electric prototype, it’s fair to say Triumph Motorcycles is jumping in with the full monty. We recently received some early press info about the bike, with some killer photos and track test footage.
Read MoreInto The Woods With A Honda Pioneer 1000
So here I am, deep in the woods on miles of mountainous Tennessee trails, bouncing/banging around in Honda’s all-purpose UTV. These trails, of which there are over 600 miles criss-crossing this portion of the state, would be entertaining for trials motorcycle riders. We are climbing over rock formations, negotiating deep gullies, fording mountain streams and large mud puddles, and climbing up/down steep mountain trails.
I’ve never done anything like this before. And I’m thoroughly enjoying myself.
Road Tripping a 2022 Yamaha Ténéré 700
I am ascending into a low cloud bank outside Hiawassee, Georgia, and visibility is limited to about 30 yards in front of me. I’m on GA 75, a twisting, curvy state road winding its way across the mountains, and rain has been pelting me since pulling out of town. My pace is slowed, both the windshield and Transitions face shield on my Bell Qualifier helmet are covered in dancing water droplets, and I’m intently peering through the fog, throttling this 2022 Yamaha Ténéré 700 cautiously across the soaked road surface.
Read More
Dunlop-Pirelli Tires Dry Handling Shootout
Dunlop sent Road Dirt a set of their new RoadSmart IV sport touring tires to compete with Pirelli’s sport touring offering, the Angel GT in a sport touring tire shootout. Road Dirt guest tester, my riding buddy and hard core tourer Dave Wensveen was roped into this test because he and I have identical 5th generation Honda VFR800s, perfect testing beds for sport touring rubber. My bike runs with the new set of Dunlop RoadSmart IVs while Dave rides with the Pirelli Angel GT. For our (mostly) dry handling test, we headed south to the Columbia River Gorge and the Rowena Curves.
Read MoreDual Sport and Adventure Motorcycles
A reader emailed us recently with the question, “What do you see as the major differences between dual sport bikes and adventure bikes?” We thought that to be a worthy inquiry, so we will share our observations here. The Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC.org) lumps both together in a category they call “dual-purpose” in regards to overall motorcycle sales, but are they really quite different motorbike types? Both are road-ready and dirt-worthy, so why not classify them together?
Read More
Law Tigers
MotoAmerica
Cycle Gear Products
Cycle World of Athens
Road Dirt Merch
The Road Dirt Podcast
The Crew
Recent Videos
Recent Comments